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The leading provider of global news, comment and analysis for the telecommunications industryWed, 21 Feb 2018 18:40:14 +0000en-GBhourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1Telstra adds Narrowband to the IoT playbookhttp://telecoms.com/487095/telstra-adds-narrowband-to-the-iot-playbook/
http://telecoms.com/487095/telstra-adds-narrowband-to-the-iot-playbook/#commentsFri, 12 Jan 2018 11:32:40 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=487095Telstra has announced the introduction of Narrowband technology into its IoT Network, to add to the three million square kilometres of Cat M1 IoT coverage the telco turned on in 2017.

IoT in Australia has seemingly gotten off to a positive start, with Telstra claiming to already connect two million IoT devices, and with this announcement it joins the top-table of telcos who are able to offer both Narrowband and Cat M1 IoT capabilities.

“We already offer our customers Australia’s largest and fastest mobile network and with our IoT Network now we have added the ability to support millions of new devices like sensors, trackers and alarms operating at very low data rates that can sit inside machines and vehicles, reach deep inside buildings and have a battery life of years rather than hours and days,” said Telstra COO, Robyn Denholm.

“These devices will be the centrepiece of the Internet of Things, which involves enabling everyday objects to send and receive data and will transform the way we all live and work in the years ahead.

“We are already leading the emergence of IoT in Australia – we connect more than two million IoT devices today and offer connected lights, cameras and motion sensors on the Telstra Smart Home platform. We expect the new mobile network capabilities we have deployed will drive rapid growth and over the next five years we forecast we will be connecting four times more devices than we do today.”

The announcement forms part of the telcos Networks for the Future programme, and part of the $3 billion capital investment Telstra intends to make to transform its network. This is a positive step towards the IoT dream, as while Cat M1 is certainly a useful technology, it might be deemed too powerful for some IoT use cases.

While Cat M1 supports applications with data in the 100s of kilobits per second, for some use cases this might be deemed excessive. Narrowband IoT is better suited to smaller data transmissions, and opens up the telco to the more basic IoT applications, for example moisture sensor or livestock tracking device. Wouldn’t want those kangeroos wasting capacity now would we?

]]>http://telecoms.com/487095/telstra-adds-narrowband-to-the-iot-playbook/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/04/Australia-network.jpgAussies ask important questions about online media consumptionhttp://telecoms.com/486585/aussies-ask-important-questions-about-online-media-consumption/
http://telecoms.com/486585/aussies-ask-important-questions-about-online-media-consumption/#commentsMon, 04 Dec 2017 12:56:30 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=486585The Australian government has tasked one of its agencies to investigate what impact digital platform providers such as Facebook and Google are having on competition in media and advertising services markets.

For the moment, the scope of the enquiry is relatively unclear, though the ACCC has stated part of the investigation will be to see whether the new platforms are affecting traditional media’s ability to fund the development of content. The last thing any democratic government is the end of media outlets who educate and inform the general public, but how much influence government should have on the commercial activities of any business is a difficult equation to balance.

“The ACCC goes into this inquiry with an open mind to and will study how digital platforms such as Facebook and Google operate to fully understand their influence in Australia,” said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims.

“We will examine whether platforms are exercising market power in commercial dealings to the detriment of consumers, media content creators and advertisers. The ACCC will look closely at longer-term trends and the effect of technological change on competition in media and advertising.”

Facebook and Google are of course doing nothing wrong. They have popular platforms were they push what they consider to be relevant and attractive content to the consumer. Most of the time this content is more conversational or entertainment related, as this is more popular with the consumer. Heavier news stories are much less likely to catch the attention of someone on the train who is just trying to kill five minutes until the next stop.

As these more entertainment driven content titles are more attractive to the online consumer, they are also attracting the lion’s share of advertisers budgets. As a result, titles which are more news related content are operating on slimmer budgets, and are therefore not able to take advantage of the commercial news platforms offered by the likes of Google and Facebook. For the more traditional content providers, it is a negative trend, which is only fuelling another negative trend.

Some might say we should let market conditions dictate the future, but recent events have shown what happens when commercial platforms, where content visibility is essentially pay-to-play, have such powerful influence over the consumer. The election of President Trump has been criticised due to the distribution of fake news and what some might call misleading propaganda, while some have also argued a misinformed electorate led the UK towards Brexit.

Unfortunately, those with the most cash are sometimes the ones who lean on sensationalist claims which fuel misinformation, or perhaps bankrolled by parties which have a bias. The latter is of course very difficult to prove, and Telecoms.com is not stating recent events have been influenced by such nefarious activities, but it is an idea which should not be lightly dismissed.

Traditional media is dying a slow and painful death at the hands of online platforms, and more entertainment-orientated titles. But this is the choice of the consumer, and the internet giants are simply addressing a need with a solution. Should this be considered wrong? Of course not. But will this lead to a general public which is less informed?

As you can see, it is a very difficult challenge for the ACCC, and one which could have global implications; governments tend to learn from each other. How do you preserve the capitalist freedoms which Western society is built on, with the need to ensure the general public is appropriately informed on topics which might not be the most click-baity?

]]>http://telecoms.com/486585/aussies-ask-important-questions-about-online-media-consumption/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Fake.jpgAustralia kicks off spectrum auction to boost mobile broadband capacityhttp://telecoms.com/486452/australia-kicks-off-spectrum-auction-to-boost-mobile-broadband-capacity/
http://telecoms.com/486452/australia-kicks-off-spectrum-auction-to-boost-mobile-broadband-capacity/#commentsTue, 28 Nov 2017 12:56:44 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=486452The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced it will auction spectrum in bands that remained unallocated after its 2015 auction in an effort to boost mobile capacity.

The remaining spectrum in the 1.8GHz band, along with airwaves in the 2GHz, 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands will all be up for grabs, mainly located in areas outside of the major cities. The auction which will run in three stages. The second and third stages are unscheduled for the moment, by that will be corrected once this stage has been completed.

“We anticipate the spectrum will be used for mobile or fixed wireless broadband services with the majority of lots available being in regional areas,” said ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin. “But we have also built flexibility into the technical frameworks for each band, allowing for other uses as well.”

The ACMA anticipate the spectrum will be used as follows:

1800 MHz: Mobile broadband services using LTE technology

2 GHz: 4G LTE or potentially 5G technologies

3 GHz: Wireless broadband services

4 GHz: Time Division Duplex mobile broadband services

The ACMA will use Simple Clock Auction methodology to run the land grab for the following spectrum; five lots in 1800 MHz, nine lots in 2 GHz, eleven lots in 2.3 GHz and fourteen lots in 3.4 GHz. The purchased licences will be valid until; 1800 MHz band: 17 June 2028; 2 GHz band: 11 October 2032; 2.3 GHz band: 24 July 2030; 3.4 GHz band: 13 December 2030.

The ACMA has also put out the disclaimer it may ‘decide to allocate spectrum licences in relation to the lots for a predetermined price in certain circumstances’. Essentially, starting bids will vary quite considerably. For example, the 1745–1750/1840–1845 MHz bands in Maryborough (a town in Queensland with a population of roughly 28,000) will be available for AUS$4,302,000, while bidding for the 2302–2400 MHz band in Telfer Mine (a mine in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia) will start at AUS$1,000.

If you would like to know the rest of the starting bids, as well as the rest of the bands available, you can follow this link – scroll down to page 33. We’ve also copied a couple of maps detailing the locations in the slideshow below:

]]>http://telecoms.com/486452/australia-kicks-off-spectrum-auction-to-boost-mobile-broadband-capacity/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/04/western-australia-kangaroo-beach-e1404211448598.jpgAussies show us how it’s done in the broadband worldhttp://telecoms.com/484071/aussies-show-us-how-its-done-in-the-broadband-world/
http://telecoms.com/484071/aussies-show-us-how-its-done-in-the-broadband-world/#commentsTue, 15 Aug 2017 14:24:51 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=484071Just to put the sluggishness of the UK into perspective, Australian operator nbn has exceeded targets to bring connectivity to surfers, avid BBQers and dingos everywhere.

In reporting its annual numbers, the number of number of premises ready for ‘fast’ broadband service almost doubled from 2.9 million to 5.7 million, exceeding the target for the year by 300,000. With the increase in end users, revenue more than doubled from $421 million to $1 billion, up on the $900 million which the team had targeted.

The network itself is somewhat similar to that of Openreach in the UK. It is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network project with both wired, and radio communication components being rolled out and operated by NBN Co Ltd.

“To almost double the footprint again on the back last year’s efforts is incredible progress and means many more Australians will have access to fast broadband sooner,” said nbn CEO Bill Morrow.

“The momentum has seen the team deliver a record 140,000 premises to the footprint in one week, putting us clearly at the centre of our peak construction period. Our delivery partners and nbn employees have worked tirelessly to reach this incredible pace.”

The number of premises connected to retail services on the nbn network grew by 122% during the period to 2.4 million premises. The marketing collateral is mainly focused around fibre-messaging (but isn’t everyone’s), though packages do start at 25 Mbps and go up to 100 Mbps. In this perspective, it is keeping pace with everyone else.

But as mentioned before, it does put the progress of ‘modern’ broadband in the UK. While there are numerous cases where those in the countryside are struggling to generate government ambitions of 10 Mbps, the Aussies are progressing very steadily. Now for the numbers.

The population stands at roughly 24.13 million, but it has a land mass of 2.97 million mi². The land mass of the UK is 93,628 mi². If the Aussies are able to put down their schooners, set aside the shrimp and find some time to connect its citizens over such a monstrous amount of land, why are we struggling to find a solution on our tiny little island? We can almost hear the echoes from the other side of the planet; “You call that a broadband network, this is a broadband network”. Oh dear, pass the digestives.

In terms of concrete progress, nbn has said when looking at the non-metro footprint alone, the network is two thirds completed. The metro footprint is one third completed with a strong focus on construction in major cities scheduled for the next twelve months.

“Looking ahead, FY2018 is another significant construction year, and arguably the most visible and difficult as we rollout in high-density cities,” said Morrow. “We are taking our learnings from the first half of the build, and applying them to ensure greater serviceability and efficiencies, particularly as we introduce Fibre-to-the-Curb into the mix.

“nbn performed well against plan in fiscal 2017, and continues to with almost six million homes and businesses able to connect and nearly three million using services on the network today. The momentum is undeniable.”

And while this does seem to be solid progress, it is worth noting the experience for the customer hasn’t always been tip-top. According to News.com.au, customers have been rating the network a 5.9/10, where as in terms of self-appraisal, nbn has given itself a 7. So what is the difference; the individual internet providers of course. nbn has stated much of the ‘negative sentiment’ is not their fault of course.

These are the only numbers which are under dispute either. There have been some issues, but according to the team, 75% of those who have the opportunity to take up the service have done so.

While the figures seem very complimentary to nbn, there are a few cracks to be papered over. News.com.au, however, state the number is closer to 42%. What is likely to be the case is nbn is using some clever word play or qualifiers to bring the numbers up, but this is just a guess from Telecoms.com. In any case, such a lack of transparency is not a promising sign this early on.

Customer satisfaction is of course one of the few metrics which actually matter, but as long as Morrow and his team take the view that the customer doesn’t know much anyway, problems are probably going to persist. The only saving grace is this is not a completed project; things should get better, hopefully.

]]>http://telecoms.com/484071/aussies-show-us-how-its-done-in-the-broadband-world/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/04/Angry-Australian-e1491494127273.jpgAustralia has a go at removing citizens’ securityhttp://telecoms.com/483381/australia-has-a-go-at-removing-citizens-security/
http://telecoms.com/483381/australia-has-a-go-at-removing-citizens-security/#commentsFri, 14 Jul 2017 08:46:10 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=483381The Australian Government is developing its own anti-encryption legislation, modelled on the UK’s Snoopers Charter, a set of rules deemed unfit by the European Court of Justice.

The move, which was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, has been built on anti-terrorism messages, as yet another government uses the element of fear in an attempt to lessen citizens online security and damage rights to privacy. According to Reuters, the idea could be passed by Parliament and made law within a matter of months.

“We need to ensure the internet is not used as a dark place for bad people to hide their criminal activities from the law,” said Turnbull. “The reality is, however, that these encrypted messaging applications and voice applications are being used obviously by all of us, but they’re also being used by people who seek to do us harm.”

Telecoms.com has said this numerous times before, but while the technology companies have an obligation to assist governments and their agencies to preserve safety, the weakening of encryption is a short-sighted move, which opens up far more problems than it does solutions. Yes, the government will be able to keep closer track on criminals, but the risks to the individual are far greater.

The Ministers and rule makers who are pushing for the weakening of encryption are looking at such ideas through the eyes of an institution, not the individual. For every win a government agency makes by using this model, tens of thousands of hackers will have penetrated the lives of consumers around the world.

How many peoples bank details will be stolen? How many embarrassing images will be used to blackmail? How many passwords will be used to defraud? Leaving a back-door into encryption algorithms is essentially the same as leaving a welcome mat for hackers; there are more of them in the dark corners of the internet, and, quite frankly, they are better than the security professionals and government IT bods.

And it is not only the bad guys we need to worry about, but the good guys as well. How many examples have there been in recent years of government agencies violating citizens’ rights and bending laws in the name of good? Governments have not proven they are responsible enough to manage such access to the intimate details of our lives, and until they do, they should not be granted access to it.

The world has always been a set of dominos. There are very few revolutionary or radical laws passed these days, but when a democratic government finds one, the rest are sure to follow before too long. The first domino is wobbling, and our right to privacy and protection is hanging in the balance. When one country finally cracks the question on how to effectively force technology companies to incorporate a back-door into security features, the rest will surely follow.

One saving grace for the individual currently appears to be the technology giants. Usually they are the bad guy with a painting smile on, using brand advertising to create a friendly persona while simultaneously harbouring the same commercial aims as every other corporation around the world, but this time they are on our side. They know how damaging such legislation could be and are making a stance against this archaic and chaotic invasion.

Australia doesn’t usually factor into major developments in the technology world, but it could be front and foremost in the catastrophic annihilation of our democratic right to privacy.

The speed was achieved thanks to carrier aggregation utilizing a massive 11 carriers – seven in the 3.4 GHz band and four in the 2.3 GHz band – on TDD LTE as well as bonding together three antennae that NBN insists on calling Wireless Network Termination Devices. This seems mainly to be a publicity exercise to show NBN has been busy.

“Our ability to deliver gigabit speeds on fixed wireless demonstrates our continued focus on identifying and implementing tech advancements as and when they are needed, across all technologies,” said NBN CEO Bill Morrow. “It’s particularly exciting to be able to reaffirm our commitment to delivering a great experience to the 600,000 premises in regional Australia that will be served by the fixed wireless network.
“Our fixed wireless network has already been recognised as a world leader and we are determined to maintain that position by making sure regional Australians get access to the same high speed broadband available in our cities. This also underlines the importance of NBN’s spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands in allowing high speed services to Australians.”

Ericsson and Qualcomm we keen not to miss out on the self-promotion action. “Ericsson has been NBN’s partner for the TDD fixed wireless network since its inception in 2011, and we are proud of our achievements with NBN to connect regional Australia, closing the digital divide,” said Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia & New Zealand.

“Our advanced cellular products and technologies, including our Snapdragon X16 LTE modem which supports Gigabit LTE speeds, underscore our ability to make these game-changing speeds and user experiences possible,” said Mike Finley, president of Qualcomm North America and Australia.

What this proves in terms of the development of fixed wireless or wireless in general is unclear as the case for carrier aggregation is already made. But sometimes you just can’t beat a good old speeds-and-feeds publicity opportunity and, in that respect at least, this seems to have got the job done.

]]>http://telecoms.com/481636/ericsson-and-qualcomm-help-nbn-hit-1-1-gbps-over-fixed-wireless/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/04/NBN-1-Gbps-fixed-wireless.jpgAussies get a bit i-rate with Applehttp://telecoms.com/481141/aussies-get-a-bit-i-rate-with-apple/
http://telecoms.com/481141/aussies-get-a-bit-i-rate-with-apple/#commentsThu, 06 Apr 2017 16:21:12 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=481141Apple has found itself in a bit of hot water after the ‘Error 53’ message which appeared on iLifers screens a couple of years ago, as it may have violated Aussie consumers’ rights.

The message itself appeared after users downloading an update to Apple’s iOS operating system, though mainly on phones which had been repaired by a third party. An investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claims Apple routinely refused to service defective devices had that device been previously repaired by a third party.

“Consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law exist independently of any manufacturer’s warranty and are not extinguished simply because a consumer has goods repaired by a third party,“ said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims.

“Denying a consumer their consumer guarantee rights simply because they had chosen a third party repairer not only impacts those consumers but can dissuade other customers from making informed choices about their repair options including where they may be offered at lower cost than the manufacturer.”

Under Australian law, there are a number of guarantees to ensure consumers are entitled to free repairs or replacement goods, should the product not meet the standards set out in the initial guarantee. The ACCC claims Apple employees told customers they were not entitled to any free services or repairs once the device had been repaired by an unauthorised third party. ACCC now insists the repair of a device by unauthorised third parties does not negate responsibilities, and has therefore been a very naughty company.

“As consumer goods become increasingly complex, businesses also need to remember that consumer rights extend to any software or software updates loaded onto those goods,” said Sims. “Faults with software or software updates may entitle consumers to a free remedy under the Australian Consumer Law.”

This isn’t the first time Apple has rubbed the Aussies up the wrong way either. Back in 2013, the ACCC claimed Apple had made a number of false or misleading representations to a number of consumers regarding their consumer guarantee rights, namely it was not required to provide a refund, replacement or repair to consumers in circumstances where these remedies were required by the consumer guarantees.

Apple acknowledged the claims, and said it would work to resolve the issues raised. Apparently.

While penalties have not been outlined by the ACCC just yet, the Wall Street Journal believes the fines could be as high as $829,000 per violation. That’s £525,000 per violation which is the same as 103,960 pints of Estrella at the Telecoms.com local pub. How the ACCC can justify a fine of almost 104,000 pints of lager per violation is beyond us, however we do know the Aussies like a drink…

]]>http://telecoms.com/481141/aussies-get-a-bit-i-rate-with-apple/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/04/Angry-Australian-e1491494127273.jpgStrewth mate! Telstra launches eye-watering gigabit LTE across Australiahttp://telecoms.com/479228/strewth-mate-telstra-launches-eye-watering-gigabit-lte-across-australia/
http://telecoms.com/479228/strewth-mate-telstra-launches-eye-watering-gigabit-lte-across-australia/#commentsTue, 31 Jan 2017 11:08:35 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=479228Crack open a VB and chuck another shrimp on the barbie, because Telstra has only gone and launched gigabit LTE across Aussie cities. Stone the flaming crows!

LTE speeds fast enough to stop a eucalyptus-munching Koala in its tracks. (Also, anyone else notice the cat under his nose?)

In a move that’s set to get Aussies hearts racing faster than a brumby bush bash, Telstra conducted a whole bunch of live network tests in the big smoke (Sydney), in which it cracked the gigabit barrier for download accompanied by a whopping 150 Mbps upload speed. As standard, partners including Ericsson, Qualcomm and Netgear all fell afoul of horrifically generic statements that accompany these sorts of announcements.

“Gigabit performance will improve access to high-quality video streaming, and facilitate emerging mobile virtual reality applications and experiences, and is a key step towards 5G,” copy-and-pasted Qualcomm in a statement.

Network vendor Netgear donated its Nighthawk M1 router to the project and consumers in Australia will be able to link into gigabit yumminess in about a month. The pant-wettingly fast speeds on offer stem from a whole bunch of spectrum cleverness, including 4X4 MIMO, 3 Carrier Aggregation and higher order modulation (256QAM). The 4-way receive diversity courtesy of Netgear and Qualcomm routers cater for an expanded data throughput capacity across all areas of the LTE network.

Mike Wright, Telstra’s Group MD for Networks reckons it’s all about the future.

“As the roll out of Gigabit LTE continues, our customers with a Gigabit capable device can enjoy a faster mobile experience for both downloads and uploads,” he said. “As our customers continue to use increasing amounts of data for entertainment and business use, Telstra’s continuous innovation ensures our network is ready to deliver the country’s best mobile experience.

“Gigabit LTE is also an important step on our journey to 5G and demonstrates Telstra’s commitment to delivering Australians a world class network now and into the future. We are well placed to evolve our 4G network and are putting the building blocks in place for Australia to be ready for 5G – this will deliver more bandwidth and lower latencies which are critical for emerging applications such as downloading 4K video, IoT, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality and shared virtual reality.”

Obviously IoT was going to be mentioned in there too. They’ve bagged two thirds of the holy trinity of telco buzzwords (5G and IoT), such a pity they didn’t get ‘cloud’ in there too…

]]>http://telecoms.com/479228/strewth-mate-telstra-launches-eye-watering-gigabit-lte-across-australia/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Australia.jpgNew Ericsson CEO Ekholm celebrates first day with major Cisco cloud dealhttp://telecoms.com/478818/new-ericsson-ceo-ekholm-celebrates-first-day-with-major-cisco-cloud-deal/
http://telecoms.com/478818/new-ericsson-ceo-ekholm-celebrates-first-day-with-major-cisco-cloud-deal/#commentsMon, 16 Jan 2017 12:29:15 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=478818Börje Ekholm’s first official day as Ericsson CEO coincides conveniently with the announcement of a big win with Cisco to virtualize Vodafone Australia’s network.

Ekholm was revealed as the new CEO of Ericsson back in October of last year, following the departure of long-time incumbent Hans Vestberg earlier that year. The announcement came just weeks after a profit warning caused Ericsson’s already depressed share price to plummetfurther and Ekholm’s appointment offered no immediate respite.

Something had to give, however, and Vestberg had been given a good run. The PR around Ekholm’s appointment is that, while he will presumably be unveiling a new cunning plan at some stage (ideally very soon), he also has the benefit of having been an Ericsson board member for the past decade and so is already up to speed on the idiosyncrasies of the company.

But the flip side of that view is that he has been a board member during a period in which Ericsson’s share price has declined by over 70% (see Google Finance screen below) while its biggest competitor Huawei has gone from strength to strength. There are some mitigating circumstances but general accusations of failing to move quickly enough with the times are hard for Ericsson to refute.

“I am very excited to assume the role as President and CEO of Ericsson, a company that I have admired for as long as I can remember,” said Ekholm. “Ericsson has shaped an entire industry and led technology developments that have benefitted so many. Yet, we are only at the beginning of the mobility journey as we in coming years will see massive transformation across industries as 5G is introduced.”

“I am confident that Börje Ekholm will be able to guide Ericsson on the next steps of the company’s development,” said Ericsson Chairman Leif Johansson. “Having served on the Ericsson Board of Directors for many years, Börje has a deep understanding of the business and the challenges Ericsson currently faces. I also want to express my gratitude to Jan Frykhammar who has served as interim CEO since July last year and who has led the company in a very dedicated and professional way.”

Fykhammar will remains a member of the executive leadership team and has been made EVP and Advisor to the CEO, having previously been CFO. That role is currently being filled by Carl Mellander, but he is still referred to as ‘acting’ CFO, indicating they may still be looking for a permanent replacement.

While it’s reassuring to hear that the Chairman is confident they’ve picked the right man for the job the pressure is immediately on Ekholm, especially since he’s already so familiar with the company, to explain how he’s going to turn things around. And that doesn’t mean continuing to cut jobs until margins start to look healthier; clear, coherent strategic vision is called for.

Ekholm is not expected to speak publicly beyond the above canned quote until the Q4 earnings call on 26 January, and beyond then he needs to have a strong message ready for the start of Mobile World Congress on 27 February. A central theme probably needs to be the prioritizing of Ericsson’s diversification efforts and maybe even abandoning some of them.

One area Ericsson is very unlikely to abandon, however, is virtualization, as that is still considered the key technology to take operators into the 5G era. It is very timely, therefore, that on the very day Ekholm took the helm Ericsson was able to announce the first truly significant win resulting from its strategic partnership with Cisco.

The two companies have been taken on by Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) to virtualize its core and IP network. Furthermore Ericsson is leading the effort, which is expected to yield all the usual NFV and SDN benefits such as efficiency, agility and flexibility. While Vodafone is only the third of three Australian MNOs this is not only a significant proof-point of the Ericsson/Cisco partnership, which hasn’t exactly set the world on fire so far, but a potentially powerful case study in favour of their virtualization efforts – so long as they get it right.

“Ericsson and Cisco are our existing providers of core and routing functions making them good partners to move into a virtualized environment,” said Kevin Millroy, CTO of VHA. “This transformation allows us to introduce new applications to drive innovation and improve customer services and user experience. The new infrastructure opens the door to new business models and markets, such as Internet of Things for Vodafone – we are excited about the future prospects this partnership offers.”

“This major transformation deal clearly demonstrates Ericsson’s global end-to-end transformation and operations capabilities as a trusted transformation partner,” said Rima Qureshi, who heads-up the Cisco partnership at Ericsson. “As the first collaboration between Ericsson and Cisco on telecom cloud infrastructure, it also shows how our global partnership is speeding digital transformation for customers across industries.”

“Cisco and Ericsson have been working with key strategic accounts around the globe to validate a telecom cloud infrastructure,” insisted Yvette Kanouff GM of Cisco’s service provider business. “This broad and significant engagement with VHA demonstrates how our two companies are utilizing our complementary assets to deliver technical and commercial innovation and systems integration leadership to the benefit of our customers.”

Here are the details of the deal from the release: The joint architecture solution comprises of Ericsson Hyperscale Datacenter System and software components such as Ericsson Cloud Execution Environment, Ericsson Cloud Manager, Cloud SDN controller; together with Cisco WAN Automation Engine, Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO), Cisco IP Network VNFs including IOS XR 9000v and Cloud Services Router 1000v, and both virtualized and physical security technologies such as the Adaptive Security Appliance and Cisco Firepower security gateway, along with services and support.

While this is by far the most significant product of the Ericsson/Cisco marriage so far, with all due respect to evolved wifi networks, there have been others, including deals with 3 Italy, Vodafone Portugal, Aster Dominican Republic and Cable & Wireless. It’s not yet clear how central this partnership will be to Ekholm’s cunning plan but it’s certainly not done him any harm to be able to announce a significant win on his first day.

]]>http://telecoms.com/478818/new-ericsson-ceo-ekholm-celebrates-first-day-with-major-cisco-cloud-deal/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Borje-Ekholm-Ericsson.jpgLycamobile throws on the sunblock and heads to Ozhttp://telecoms.com/476554/lycamobile-throws-on-the-sunblock-and-heads-to-oz/
http://telecoms.com/476554/lycamobile-throws-on-the-sunblock-and-heads-to-oz/#commentsMon, 17 Oct 2016 17:20:57 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=476554Lycamobile has announced the launch of 4G services across its Australian network expanding an already existing wider relationship with Telstra Wholesale.

The new deal with Telstra Wholesale means Lycamobile now has 4G coverage of 95% of the Australian population, and 98.8% when 4G and 3G is combined, the team claims. This covers a total of 1.59 million square kilometres, but just to put things in perspective, Australia is roughly 7.7 million square kilometres big.

“Through our extended relationship with Telstra Wholesale, we are delighted to be able to offer 4G services to our Australian customers,” said Subaskaran Allirajah, Lyca Group’s Chairman. “As Lyca Mobile continues to expand internationally, we are working hard to develop our product offering and maintain our commitment to customer experience as we further our goal of connected communities and bringing people together across the world.”

“We are looking forward to working with Lycamobile to bring 4G to more customers across Australia,” said Glenn Osborne, Telstra Wholesales’ Executive Director for sales. “Telstra has a longstanding partnership with Lycamobile, we are pleased to support them in expanding their offering to include 4G services alongside existing high quality 3G.”

The move supports a wider strategy from the Lyca Group to move into new markets. Although the brand was already present in Australia, the expansion does make the proposition more attractive. A less mature and restrained publication might take this opportunity to rehash Aussie stereotypes such as an obsession with sport, AC/DC and putting Vegemite-coated kangaroos on the barbie, but Telecoms.com would never stoop to such a level.

Proquo will offer more than two million Australian small businesses an online platform to network, trade or swap services with each other.

Leigh O’Neill, NAB executive general manager micro and small business, says: “Small business is the backbone of the Australian economy; around 97% of all Australian businesses are small businesses and they provide a huge economic contribution to Australia’s current and future prosperity.”

Small businesses will be able to source a range of services from other providers, create briefs for the work they need, exchange quotes, manage payments and publish reviews all on one platform.

NAB says Proquo is a modern interpretation of the phrase quid pro quo (meaning ‘this for that’) and offers users the unique ability to swap or exchange their skills or services in addition to traditional monetary payments.

It was developed by NAB’s innovation hub, NAB Labs and Telstra’s Gurrowa Innovation Lab. While it is a 50/50 joint venture, it will operate as an independent entity.

Proquo will begin a pilot phase in June, with a full launch expected in July 2016.

The e-trading platform has been released to the market and offers automation for pre-trade, execution and post-trade activity. Clients can trade through the platform itself or through major multi-bank platforms.

Telstra started progressively selling its Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial (HFC) network to NBN in 2014 and this deal covers the upgrade and maintenance of this network over the next four years. “Telstra has a long and proud history in network construction and we believe we will bring great expertise to this important part of the NBN network,” said Telstra CEO Andrew Penn.

As the largest Australian Telco it was inevitable Telstra would have a role to play in the NBN process, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is worried that this new ongoing relationship between the two might give Telstra an unfair advantage over its competitors regarding use of the network. Talks are already underway to address the ACCC’s concerns.

“We have raised several concerns with Telstra and NBN Co, including that Telstra may receive a competitive advantage if it has access to better information than other service providers or if it is able to use infrastructure built for the NBN network before that infrastructure becomes available to other retail service providers,” said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims.

“We are looking at the parties’ proposals carefully to consider to what extent these proposals address our concerns. It is important that Telstra doesn’t get a head-start selling retail services over the NBN just because its technical expertise is being used in the construction and maintenance of the NBN.”

Since the Australian tax payer is contributing billions of dollars to NBN it has been under heavy scrutiny since its creation in 2009, during which there has been no shortage of controversy. Aus$11 billion has already been handed over to Telstra for its copper and HFC networks, and there will be understandable concern that the two organisations are getting too cosy with this latest deal.

]]>http://telecoms.com/471787/telstras-1-2-billion-nbn-contract-raises-competition-concerns/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/04/Australia-network.jpgTelstra appoints former Nokia CEO Elop to head up tech strategyhttp://telecoms.com/471292/telstra-appoints-former-nokia-ceo-elop-to-head-up-tech-strategy/
http://telecoms.com/471292/telstra-appoints-former-nokia-ceo-elop-to-head-up-tech-strategy/#commentsWed, 16 Mar 2016 11:22:59 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=471292Australian telco Telstra has created the new role of Group Executive Technology, Innovation and Strategy in a bid ‘to become a world class technology company’, and has put Stephen Elop in charge.

The new position encompasses the Chief Technology Office, Chief Scientist, Telstra Software Group and Corporate Strategy with strong links into product development functions. Presumably this means the likes of Hugh Bradlow will now report into Elop, who in turn will report directly to CEO Andrew Penn.

“Stephen will immediately add major firepower to our team with his extensive and deep technology experience and an innate sense of customer expectations,” said Penn. “He is a recognised international technology leader and strategist from across a range of global organisations.”

While Elop does indeed have a rich and varied CV, it’s intriguing to see him held up as an exemplary strategist given the fate of Nokia during his tenure as CEO from 2010 to 2013. In that time Nokia went from being the world’s dominant mobile handset company to selling off the entire devices operation to Microsoft – Elop’s former employer – for $7.2 billion. Elop then went back to Microsoft just long enough to oversee the write-off of the entire acquisition, before being shown the door.

“I have long recognised the Telstra team as one of the most innovative and insightful in the telecommunications industry,” said Elop. “Telstra has a strong focus on its customers, and a willingness to invest in advanced products and services to best serve those customers. I am excited to be joining the team at a particularly unique moment of opportunity for Telstra.”

Telstra has offered few specifics on what this strategic shift entails. Elop’s appointment and the use of the term ‘technology’ rather than ‘telecoms’ implies a diversification of its product offering, possibly including devices, cloud services, content, etc. The company must be assuming Elop has learned some hard lessons from his Nokia experience, which will help him to avoid a repeat performance.

The new network runs between Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, which is a round trip of over 10,000 km, and the lack of any regeneration nodes allows lower latency and higher capacity. Apparently it even qualifies for a Guinness World Record for the ‘longest un-regenerated terrestrial fibre optic link.’

“This new optical technology enables Telstra to provide Australia’s lowest latency link between Sydney and Perth – key access points critical for trans-Australian and international telecommunications,” said David Robertson, Director of Transport and Routing Engineering at Telstra. “This high-performance link provides Telstra’s customers differentiation for applications which require high-speed and low latency, such as financial trading or cloud based offerings.”

“By not having intermediary optical and data regeneration, cost and latency performance is optimized,” said Arne Sjule, Head of IP Routing at Ericsson. “It’s like an airline passenger having a non-stop long distance flight – time is not wasted without any additional cost. Un-regenerated transmission of over 10,000 km provides improved resiliency options. Traffic can now be re-routed over extremely long distances when needed, for example in unforeseen natural disaster scenarios.”

This news comes the day after it was announced that Telstra had also partnered with Ericsson over video delivery by taking on its Media Delivery Network managed CDN service – the first operator to do so.

“We will work collaboratively with Telstra to effectively leverage both the Media Delivery Network solution and their core network functionality to develop strategic content delivery and optimization services, supporting the growth of Telstra’s media business,” said Ove Anebygd, Head of Solution Area Media at Ericsson.

Lastly Telstra announced today that is has extended its new global SDN platform into the optical layer, enabling up to 100G bandwidth and automated fault restoration across its global Points of Presence.

“Extending our global PEN platform into the optical layer is the natural next step in our SDN strategy and by providing this infrastructure on demand, we’re able to significantly shorten the provisioning cycle times and better meet our customers’ growing high-bandwidth needs, said Jim Clarke, Telstra’s Director of Marketing, Product and Pricing.

]]>http://telecoms.com/420461/ericsson-and-telstra-debut-ciena-low-latency-optical-technology/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/06/Optic_Cable.jpgAustralia launches public consultation on delayed NBN transitionhttp://telecoms.com/280851/australia-launches-public-consultation-on-delayed-nbn-transition/
http://telecoms.com/280851/australia-launches-public-consultation-on-delayed-nbn-transition/#commentsWed, 03 Sep 2014 15:13:35 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=280851The Australian government released a Migration Assurance Policy consultation paper yesterday to collect opinion from the public and industry representatives on how to best handle the country’s transition from legacy copper to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The paper, whose submission deadline for responses is on the 26th of September, outlined the purpose of the consultation: “The migration of services to the NBN has implications for a wide range of stakeholders including customers, retail service providers and application service providers, and requires engagement with, and commitment from multiple industry stakeholders.”

As previously reported by Telecoms.com, the transition process has so far been delayed for various reasons, which the paper acknowledges: “To date, there have been challenges in migrating end-user services from Telstra’s copper network to the fibre to the premises NBN and there are likely to be challenges in migrating end-users to the multi-technology NBN, which includes fibre to the node (FTTN) and hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) solutions. Experience has shown that for a successful migration that results in the best outcomes for consumers, certain fundamentals, such as industry participation, needs to occur early in the process.”

The paper outlines some of the challenges that have come up: “Key issues have related to customer migration processes, lack of role clarity, other operational matters (including serviceability), information management and communications coordination.”

The paper goes on to say: “The process of migrating an end-user’s services to the FTTP network has presented a unique and challenging set of circumstances for all stakeholders involved. This has resulted in less than satisfactory outcomes such as missed appointments, poor coordination and communication between NBN Co and RSPs…”

So far the transition from legacy copper to NBN in Australia has been somewhat chaotic but this is hardly surprising with the view that the project was commenced with a board where apparently no one had any previous telecoms experience.

]]>http://telecoms.com/280851/australia-launches-public-consultation-on-delayed-nbn-transition/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/09/Australian-flag.jpgTelstra takes Whispir SaaS globalhttp://telecoms.com/279721/telstra-takes-whispir-saas-global/
http://telecoms.com/279721/telstra-takes-whispir-saas-global/#commentsThu, 28 Aug 2014 08:54:29 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=279721Telstra’s international carrier and business services operation has this week made cloud-based rich communication service Whispir available over its international network.

Melbourne-based Whispir is a secure SaaS platform that threads together communications across many channels into rich conversations via SMS, voice, web, email, mobile data and social media networks. Telstra is a key investor in the firm.

Telstra Global Enterprise and Services will undertake the global expansion of the Whispir Conversation Platform, a cloud-based enterprise service that allows organisations to reach and communicate with customers, employees and the community. The Whispir Conversation Platform will be available in global locations from the end of August via a range of packages and pricing.

Nathan Bell, Telstra Global Enterprise and Services, Director of Marketing, Portfolio and Pricing said Telstra currently offered the Whispir Conversation Platform to many of its enterprise and government customers in Australia and would be using this experience to deliver the service to new international customers.

“In less than two years, Whispir’s customer base has quadrupled to more than 1.6 million users and with today’s expansion, we see significant growth opportunities for this service, particularly when delivered over Telstra’s global network extending to more than 2,000 Points of Presence,” said Bell.

“From a major bank using the platform to communicate with staff about IT incidents, critical events and business continuity to a rail operator sharing targeted information about their train network with a local community, or a HR department coordinating the flow of information to job seekers in their network, Whispir can be used across complex operational environments within any industry and organisation, big or small,” he said.

]]>http://telecoms.com/279721/telstra-takes-whispir-saas-global/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2010/09/messaging-social-network.jpgVodafone Australia eyes VoLTE rollouthttp://telecoms.com/278881/vodafone-australia-eyes-volte-rollout/
http://telecoms.com/278881/vodafone-australia-eyes-volte-rollout/#commentsThu, 21 Aug 2014 06:52:21 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=278881Vodafone Hutchison Australia has tapped up Ericsson for a network overhaul that will see the operator capable of delivering VoLTE services as it seeks to optimise its network capabilities through virtualization.

Over the period of the five year agreement, Ericsson will fully virtualize Vodafone’s core network, incorporating Ericsson’s IP Multimedia Subsystem and Evolved Packet Core as well as policy control, network robustness, performance and resiliency.

There have been a whole raft of operator VoLTE announcements of late as carriers seek to take voice off the legacy circuit switched network in order to simplify and improve their network capabilities as well as offer customers high definition voice services at the same time as high speed data.

]]>http://telecoms.com/278881/vodafone-australia-eyes-volte-rollout/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2010/01/voice.jpgNBN Co brings satellite access to bush; Optus opens up 700MHzhttp://telecoms.com/273782/nbn-co-brings-satellite-access-to-bush-optus-opens-up-700mhz/
http://telecoms.com/273782/nbn-co-brings-satellite-access-to-bush-optus-opens-up-700mhz/#commentsTue, 22 Jul 2014 07:16:28 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=273782Australia’s next generation broadband network, NBN Co, on Tuesday said it would use satellite to boost the number of connections for Australians who cannot access existing commercial broadband services. The NBN Co Satellite Support (NSS) Scheme will connect to up to 9,000 additional premises in remote and regional mainland Australia and Tasmania, until the expected launch of NBN Co’s Long Term Satellite Service (LTSS) in late 2015.

The service will be delivered by wholesaler, IP Star. Only one commercial service per eligible home or business can be ordered under the NSS Scheme, NBN Co said.

The NSS Scheme is designed to deliver wholesale speeds of up to 4Mbps download and 1Mbps upload and the service is expected to provide ISPs with a minimum performance of 65 per cent peak speed, 85 per cent of the time.

NBN Co Chief Customer Officer, John Simon said: “Bringing broadband to the most remote communities across Australia is one of NBN Co’s highest priorities. It gives residents access to e-health, distance education and internet banking, while businesses can benefit from increased productivity, reduced costs and access to new markets.”

In related news, rival carrier Optus is turning on its first commercial LTE 700MHz network in Darwin and Perth after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) granted early access commercial licences. The commercial pilot means Optus customers with compatible devices will soon be able to access LTE services over 700MHz.

“We’re expanding our superfast 4G network to more Australians this year, with plans to reach 90 per cent of the Australian population by March 2015,” said Vic McClelland, Managing Director of Optus Networks.

“This brings Optus one step closer to the launch of our national 4G 700MHz network as we bring 4G to more places around Australia. It allows us to move beyond the testing phase into what customers experience on our live commercial network and enables us to deliver an enhanced 4G network experience,” he said.

Optus customers with compatible devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) will be able to access the 4G network in select areas, before it becomes more widely available from January 2015.

From January 2015, as the 700MHz spectrum becomes nationally available for commercial use, Optus will expand its 4G network to around 200 holiday destinations and new regional locations. The spectrum will be also be used to improve the indoor 4G experience for customers in metro areas.

]]>http://telecoms.com/273782/nbn-co-brings-satellite-access-to-bush-optus-opens-up-700mhz/feed/0http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2009/11/satellite3-300x2472.jpgAustralian NBN claims deployment boost under Morrowhttp://telecoms.com/270152/australian-nbn-claims-deployment-boost-under-morrow/
http://telecoms.com/270152/australian-nbn-claims-deployment-boost-under-morrow/#commentsTue, 01 Jul 2014 10:56:24 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=270152Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) looks to have turned a corner in terms of deployment, claiming a fourfold increase in the number of premises covered by its fixed wireless service over the past year.

Under the leadership of Bill Morrow, ex-CEO of Vodafone Australia, appointed CEO at NBN Co at the start of this year, the company is finally improving its image after the national wholesale network rollout was hit by multiple delays for various reasons. Australian communications minister Malcolm Turnbull was previously critical of the NBN board in complaining that none of its members had any previous telco experience and that they did not do enough to rein in network costs and correct the mistakes that were being made. He ultimately called for the board to tender resignations, resulting in the appointment of Morrow.

Now the company claims that in a boost to the availability of broadband in the bush, over 106,000 homes, farms and businesses are now covered by service.

The figure includes 20,000 premises in rural and regional areas across the country where the NBN is newly available, including Humpty Doo, Northern Territory and parts of the Mid North Coast, NSW.

Over the same period there has also been a sevenfold increase in the number of families and businesses using the service – rising from 1,870 premises a year ago to 16,000 premises today. The sharp increase in users coincides with the addition to the fixed wireless product suite a year ago of the higher 25Mbps wholesale speed tier.

NBN Co Chief Operating Officer, Greg Adcock said: “It’s clear from these figures that people outside the major cities want better broadband. We’ve put a significant focus on accelerating rollout of NBN Co’s fixed wireless service to rural and regional Australia. That allows people in these communities to take advantage of the economic and social opportunities that the rest of the country takes for granted.”

Last week, Telstra and NBN Co reached an agreement to pilot the planning, design and construction of 1000 nodes across Queensland and New South Wales, ahead of an anticipated large scale integration of Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) technology into the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The deal is thought to be worth in the region of A$150m and will connect around 200,000 homes and businesses by marrying fibre optic cables with Telstra’s copper lines in a streetside node cabinet to deliver fast broadband.

]]>http://telecoms.com/270152/australian-nbn-claims-deployment-boost-under-morrow/feed/1http://telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/04/western-australia-kangaroo-beach-e1404211448598.jpgTelstra wins deal to deploy Fibre for NBNhttp://telecoms.com/268952/telstra-wins-deal-to-deploy-fibre-for-nbn/
http://telecoms.com/268952/telstra-wins-deal-to-deploy-fibre-for-nbn/#commentsThu, 26 Jun 2014 07:21:18 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=268952Australian carrier Telstra and the organisation responsible for the country’s next generation broadband network, NBN Co, on Thursday said they had reached an agreement to pilot the planning, design and construction of 1000 nodes across Queensland and New South Wales, ahead of an anticipated large scale integration of Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) technology into the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The deal is thought to be worth in the region of A$150m and will connect around 200,000 homes and businesses by marrying fibre optic cables with Telstra’s copper lines in a streetside node cabinet to deliver fast broadband.

The areas covered by the pilot are parts of: Bribie Island, Warner and Caboolture in the Moreton Bay region; and Bundaberg and Gympie in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. Belmont, Boolaroo, Morisset and Hamilton in the Hunter Region; and Gorokan on the Central Coast. NBN Co will also expand its FTTN build pilot activity in Woy Woy on the Central Coast.

NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow said: “This is a progressive step in the evolution of the NBN. It shows we are determined to get on with the job of delivering fast and reliable broadband to Australians while wider negotiations with Telstra continue.

“The extensive pilot program we’re announcing today will deliver valuable insights into how to build a sustainable and consistent program of work that allows the industry to ramp up and deploy the FTTN element of the NBN at scale.”

This latest agreement represents the second phase of FTTN build activity. The first phase involved the construction of small scale FTTN sites in Umina in the Central Coast in and Epping in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Morrow, ex-CEO of Vodafone Australia was appointed CEO at NBN Co at the start of this year.

The national wholesale network rollout has been hit by multiple delays for various reasons. Australian communications minister Malcolm Turnbull was previously critical of the NBN board in complaining that none of its members had any previous telco experience and that they did not do enough to rein in network costs and correct the mistakes that were being made. He ultimately called for the board to tender resignations, resulting in the appointment of Morrow.